Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Pina Colada - In A Trifle!!!! - Well, Almost...!

Whats the easiest thing to put together when you have a sponge sitting in your fridge?? A make ahead, elegant dessert which can feed a crowd as well?? A trifle, a trifle, a trifle!!! No fuss, no sweating over slicing the cake neatly, perfect frosting not needed, just assemble however u fancy and chill. And then you sit back and chill.

I love Pina Colada, the pineapple drink with a hint of coconut. And the idea of making a similar cake or dessert had been on my mind since months. My new bottle of pineapple essence had to be tried and tested. I am quite fussy about buying essence as I have had a couple of bad experiences. The essence was so very over-powering, I had to throw the other wise good cake into the trash can:-(. Thankfully the pineapple essence was good.

I made a pineapple sponge with my favorite recipe for a fat-less sponge and put it in the freezer... waiting for an excuse to make a dessert out of it. Vani, initially an acquaintance through my blog and now a friend,  was to drop by at my place. How can I have a guest, a baking enthusiast at that, and not bake something?

Whipping cream whipped with coconut cream, layered with cubes of pineapple sponge, pineapple bits and a sprinkling of grated fresh coconut conjured up in my mind. And at last, my fantasy of making a Pina Colada Trifle came alive.

Here is what I did.

For the fat-less Pineapple Sponge, recipe from Deeba.
 Ingredients:

  • Eggs - 3
  • Castor sugar - 1/2 cup
  • Flour - 1/2 cup
  • Pineapple essence - 1 tsp

Method:
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line, grease & dust a Swiss roll tin.
  • Beat the eggs, essence & sugar till mousse like (almost 10 minutes). I added a couple of drops of yellow food color.
  • Lightly fold the flour in 3 goes in figure 8 movements (so as no to release the air bubbles).
  • Gently turn into prepared tray & bake for 10-12 minutes till light brown & spongy.
If you would be using a regular 9 inch round tin, it will take longer to bake, mine takes about 30-35 minutes. Turn out to cool on rack, immediately removing the lining. When fully cool, use as needed. If you would be using later, you can store the sponge in the fridge for 2-3 days and in the freezer for longer.

For the coconut cream:
3/4 cup whipping cream ( I have used sweetened non -dairy cream)
1/2 cup coconut cream, chilled.( I used Dabur Hommade)
1 1/2 tablespoons icing sugar (to add sweetness to the coconut cream and help stabilize the same when whipped)


Chill the whipping cream for at least 10 hours in the fridge. Chill the beaters and the bowl for 2-3 hours at least. Stainless steel works best .Combine the whipping cream, icing sugar and coconut cream. Place over a large bowl of ice. Whip first on low for a minute or so and then at medium speed for about 8-10 minutes or till the cream forms soft peaks. Be careful not to over whip.Chill till needed.

More ingredients we will need:
 1 Cup Simple sugar syrup (1 cup water plus 1-2 tablespoons sugar, more to taste) Add a splash of rum if   you like
 1/2 cup chopped pineapple chunks(I used canned)
1 tablespoon grated fresh coconut( you could also use chopped tender coconut)

To assemble:
Cut the sponge horizontally into 2 layers, then cut into small cubes. Take a large transparent bowl( a large tall one works best), place half the cake cubes. Pour some sugar syrup and moisten the cake pieces well. Do not over-soak. Spoon a layer of coconut and cream. Put some pineapple chunks and the grated fresh coconut over it. Put the remaining cake cubes, moisten with syrup, spoon the remaining coconut cream. Garnish with coconut. I had wanted maraschino cherries, but could not get them:-(. Chill for at least 5-6 hours.


Scoop out the dessert from the bottom, making sure every serving has two layers of cake and two of cream. Scoop into dessert bowls and dig in!!!

Note: The cream had a hint of coconut, but could have been better with more. You could try whipping equal parts of cream and coconut cream. You could also skip the coconut cream, and use coconut essence and  whipped cream. I did not as I am yet to find good quality coconut essence.

Add rum to the soaking syrup if you like.

Use chopped tender coconut  instead of grated coconut.

Sending the trifle to Champa's Bake Off .



































28 comments:

Ally said...

would definitely dig into this!sinful indeed

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Looks really lovely. Great dessert.

Sushma Mallya said...

wow you have done it so beautifully..and loved the new look of your blog too...

Champa said...

What a beautiful looking Trifle. Thanks for the entry.

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

Excellent click dear...too tempting to grab a spoonful....

Tasty appetite

Padhu Sankar said...

Wow!! that looks so beautiful .I wish I could have some now

Pavithra Elangovan said...

That looks absolutely delicious... awesome pictures as well.

Satya said...

this trifle looks awesome ...love the way u present it ..yummy

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

Nitha said...

lovely clicks.. beautiful pina colada..

Hari Chandana P said...

wow.. looks soo beautiful and amazing job dear !!

Aps Kitchen said...

Wow it luks absolutely delicious

Unknown said...

Simply delicious !!!

Deepti said...

Simply superb! Love the presentation.

belesaaru.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Im coming, Im coming! Save me a bowlful of this :)

Vani said...

Ladies and Gentlemen!!!! Now for the PROOF OF THE PUDDING!!! Now I am gonna make you all 'J'! Picture this...a delicate pineapple sponge, soaked in syrup yet the grainy structure is retained...Layered with tiny bite- sized nibbles of pineapple...and next comes the refreshing fresh cream with a pleasant tropical hint of coconut cream! WOW!! I ATE IT...I ATE IT!!! YAY YAY!! AWESOME! :)
Thank you Suma! :) I am one lucky gal who stays about a km away from Suma's house. So Suma, the next time round you just have to gimme a hint...and I will walk up to your place post my dinner. :)
Suma was also kind enough to teach me the finer aspects of baking a fatless sponge and gifted me the sponge that we baked (a coffee sponge!). Thanks gal! :)

Priya Suresh said...

Wowww cant take my eyes from the click, very tempting dessert, love it..

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

thats a gorgeous looking trifle. love this idea of butterless sponge. looks so so tempting.
between I live in HSR Layout. where do you stay? come anytime you feel like...it would be entirely my pleasure Suma. between are you attending the Bangalore bloggers meet at IIMB on 4th Oct?

Rekha said...

Suma, you can add the flowers as a post on your blog or send the pictures across by mail, anything is fine by us.

Sum said...

Ooooohoooo.... Its soooo tempting! Lovely clicks and decoration...

Shubha said...

wow suma this one is a real treat!!!

Panchpakwan said...

Looks so yummy..nice presentation too.

Rachana said...

Thats such a delicious treat. Yumm!!!!

Prathima Rao said...

Yummmmm....Lovely clicks...Glad to be ur follower!!

Padmajha said...

Thats so delicious!Lovely click

Anonymous said...

Here comes another testimonial people...and I couldnt agree more with Vani who got to taste it too :)
Yes, we both visited Suma, but unfortunately on different days. Hope to meet you soon Vani!

Coming back to Suma's trifle, it was a creamy, dreamy, melt-in-the-mouth kinda dessert I couldn't get enough of. Though Suma had saved me a nice bowlful, I wish I could've laid my hands on more. What stopped me from doing that you ask? My stupid diet! As I dug into the dreamy trifle, I was imagining my weighing scales tipping to the side I dont like, but nonetheless, I was a good girl, and I finished what was served! Talk about wanting excuses to eat! I just need an excuse nowadays, to be able to eat my dessert, and Suma just gave me one!

Thanks heaps Suma! It was wonderful visiting you and your adorable tiny-tots! I had great fun! We should do this more often :) :)

And the rest of you, can be content with just Suma's pic, while the mild coconut flavour, mingled with the pineapple, and the cream is still lingering in my memory, and its making me yearn for more of Suma's trifle as I type this now. Slurrrrrrrrrpppp!

sweet artichoke said...

Beautiful and tempting pic, for a delicious dessert!

Pushpa said...

Delicious dessert...Yummy Yumm

Pushpa @ simplehomefood.com

Preeti said...

What a lovely treat it is both for the eyes and the taste buds!!